Who Did 84 Dig Up?

"You have a deathly aura about you, Jin."

α3 Arlina said this as she used her cog-toothed axe to push aside branches blocking the way, striding lightly toward excavation shaft U2.

"Thanks for the compliment."

Jin said. His massive frame was clearly somewhat cramped in the rainforest. Like an elephant, he broke through every obstacle in his path.

"I don't understand you," α3 Arlina said. "You were clearly the Underking's most favored Magos, so why did you choose self-exile? You could have made a better choice."

"I wanted to become a person," Jin said. "If you insist on asking, then my original intention in following the Underking was to become human. Ten thousand years later, I judged that I had strayed somewhat from that anchor point—yes, I am a believer, but I am more than a believer. I am myself. I am what I am. That is what he truly advocated."

Jin fell silent for a moment.

"Compared to the Cult of the Underworld, the Adeptus Mechanicus has clearly misunderstood him."

"...It's all that idiot Kirkland's fault."

Jin muttered a curse. His personal void shield blocked a bird flying at him.

"The creatures on this planet are highly aggressive."

α3 Arlina said as they reached the marker. "Time to split up. You take excavation shaft I6, and I'll take U2. All right, I still don't understand your viewpoint, but perhaps I can understand 64.08% of your attitude—just as others cannot understand my obsession with excavating the truth beneath the earth."

Jin waved a hand.

"See you underground."

The Magos said, and the two mechanical teams went their separate ways.

Perhaps α3 Arlina did not understand that Jin had other reasons for coming here... other reasons. He wanted to look at the Necrons, to remind himself that living was something one